The annual White House Easter egg roll was a well-established
tradition when President Herbert Hoover took office, and the Hoovers
were present on April Fools’ Day, 1929 to observe their first Easter egg
roll take place.

First Lady Lou Henry Hoover put her own imprint on the event by
ordering part of the South Lawn roped off so maypole dances and Native
American, Swedish and English folk dances could take place there. The
dances were performed by the first lady’s favorite organization, the
Girl Scouts, as well as the Girl Reserves of the Young Women’s Christian
Association and members of Washington, D.C., private social service
providers Friendship House and the Neighborhood House.

Mrs. Hoover watched the maypole dances and listened to glee club
songs from the South Portico, where the president also appeared a few
times to survey the children’s fun. Concerned that some children might
not have eggs of their own, the president had chosen to have a crate of
eggs presented to him by Governor Clyde M. Reed of Kansas hard-boiled
and colored for distribution at the egg roll.

White House Police estimated that 47,217 people filled the South
Lawn under gray, drab skies that soon became sunny. The police said that
71 children were lost but all were reunited with their parents by the
time the egg roll ended at 6:00 p.m.1

The April 21, 1930 crowd of 48,464 set a then-record for White House
Easter Egg Rolls. Mrs. Hoover decided to use the Rose Garden as a “lost
and found bureau” where gone-astray children could be brought to their
parents with the help of Girl Scout volunteers. Unfortunately the first
lady had to watch the festivities from her bedroom window, as she was
suffering from a bad cold and a sprained back.2

Cold winds and sprinkles of rain kept the 1931 Easter egg roll crowd
down to an estimated 30,847. “Oh, look at this old rain,” the Mrs.
Hoover observed. “We had hoped there would be lots of sunshine.”
Throughout the morning she called out, “Welcome!” and “Glad to see you!”
from the South Portico. Inside the White House, the Hoovers’
grandchildren Peggy Ann (age 6) and Herbert (Pete) Hoover II (age 3)
hosted an ice cream and cake Easter party of their own for the children
of cabinet members, senators, representatives and executive department
heads. They then went with their grandmother on an outing to the South
Lawn to watch the excitement there, and President Hoover also emerged on
to the South Portico to wish everyone well. Ten-year old Samuel Jackson
of Muskegon, Michigan, was so excited to see the president that he
slipped on the soggy grass and broke his arm. He was taken to the
hospital, where he received flowers from the Hoovers and an invitation
from the first lady to visit the White House.3

Drizzly, rainy weather and temperatures in the upper 30s curbed
attendance at what would prove to be the Hoover’s final Easter egg roll
in 1932. Gloves, rubber overshoes and umbrellas were the order of the
day. It was so chilly that the folk dances were canceled and instead the
YWCA Girl Reserves dressed as animals, clowns and other circus
entertainers for a spectacle performance on the driveway in front of the
South Portico. Some of the children were seen blowing on their fingers
to keep warm. Spirits revived, however, when Mrs. Hoover emerged to
distribute Easter eggs carried in baskets by members of the White House domestic staff. One child was so keen to get an egg that she went
through the line twice. “I’m sure I haven’t seen this Little Red Riding
Hood before,” Mrs. Hoover told her, “so here’s a nice red egg for you.”

A highlight of the 1932 egg roll was the introduction of rubber Easter eggs, brightly painted to look like the real thing. The rubber eggs bounced on the grass and sidewalks to the enchantment of the children. “There are lot of ‘em around here today,” explained one boy, “because they roll better.”4

This article was originally published
March 24, 2016

Footnotes & Resources

“Hoover to Give Crate of Eggs for Children to Roll Monday,” New
York Times, March 30, 1929; “Folk Dances at the White House Egg Rolling;
Nation Will Share Them through Broadcast,” New York Times, March 29,
1931; “Children Throng Annual Egg Fete,” Evening Star (Washington,
D.C.), April 1, 1929; “Annual Easter Egg Rolling Draws 47,217 through
Executive Gates,” Washington Post, April 2, 1929